Anniversary
by 100wingeddragons
Summary: It's his and Trudy's wedding anniversary, a day when Monk usually sinks into depression, thinking and mourning for his wife. But this time, with Natalie around, it's time for our detective to take the leap and try to change his life. M/N pairing, T rated
1. Chapter 1

_**Note: Hi everyone! Monk's life is not a fairy tale. But we all want him happy. Still not having Trudy's case solved, what if he suddenly realizes he still might be getting a chance to start living again?**_ _ **The story takes place sometime at the beginning of season 7**_ _ **.**_

 _ **(just for now, forget about "Mr. Monk gets drunk" episode)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I still own nothing, I'm poor.**_

Adrian Monk was depressed. Pacing the floor there and back again, every now and then he made a short break only to brush off an invisible dust of some of the many photographs of his deceased wife, Trudy, placed all around his apartment. He couldn't help it. And would continue even when there already was everything absolutely speckles.

It was very early in the morning but he no longer could stand the empty space on Trudy´s side of the bed, the darkness and coldness of the room, and his own thoughts.

Once again, maybe for the fiftieth time, since he had rolled out of his bed, he stopped at his mantel in the living room, and stared into the bright eyes of his beautiful wife, his fingers gently stroking her face. She was smiling and he smiled back, wiping away tears that found their way down his cheeks.

It was their seventeenth wedding anniversary. Seventeen years since he had said "I do" to the angelic being who had changed his life and showed him what love truly was and who had given him hope that he was worth it.

He had never really enjoyed company but loneliness frightened him that day more than usual, just like everything else.

His assistant, Natalie, wouldn't be coming, he'd given her a day off. Not that he didn't need her around, he just knew she wouldn't be able to help him with what he'd have to deal with today.

For so many years since Trudy died, every year he'd hope that maybe that time it would be different. And every year, the pain was excruciating.

Lifting the framed picture from the mantel, he held it with both hands, his eyes drifting over her radiant face. He remembered the day he'd taken it, one of all those happy days he'd spent with her.

She would want him to be happy. Deep inside, in his heart, he knew she'd want him to move on and start living. But how? He hadn't even found out who had killed her yet.

His body started to shake. Silently sobbing, he held the picture to his chest, whispering.

" _Trudy, I'm sorry. I can't. I.. I don't know how to do it..."_

Hours had passed, one after another, and Adrian's depression deepened.

He was avoiding cleaning. Trying hard to block all those intrusive thoughts out and keep the urge to sweep and bleach the floor grounded, he settled on the couch and opened his wedding album. Hoping the stove wouldn't go off if he didn't check it's knobs exactly ten times, he sighed and forced himself to stay seated. That day was his and Trudy's, he was going to spend it with her.

He sighed again as beautiful but painful memories flooded his mind, crushing his chest, threatening to choke him. Fresh tears blinded him as he was turning page after page, recalling that blissful day to the very last detail. It felt like his heart was being ripped out of chest, yet still, he thought it was a good way how to celebrate it. Trudy deserved it and for her sake, he would be willing to withstand any pain in the world.

 _\- Adrian?_

 _\- Trudy… Am I.. Is this a dream?_

 _\- Yes, it is. You fell asleep looking at our wedding photos._

 _\- Oh my god.. I fell asleep! I- I'm sorry, Trudy! I didn't mean to.. I- ah- I shouldn't be… I…_

 _\- Shhh, Adrian, It's alright. You were tired. You can't sleep well lately._

 _\- How do you know?_

 _\- I'm always with you, my love._

Adrian shifted on the couch and smiled as the dream of his beautiful wife continued.

 _\- Adrian, listen. You need to stop living like this. You need to let me go."_

 _\- What you mean, Trudy?_

 _\- I've been watching you, Adrian. I can see how you're torturing yourself and it hurts me. Don't you understand? I can't find peace until you let me go. Our love was strong and I know there will always be a place for me in your heart. But it's been ten years…_

 _\- T- Trudy… I can't..._

 _\- I know you can, Adrian. And I promise you won't be alone._

 _\- But how? How do I do it? How can I forget?_

 _\- You don't have to try and forget. Our love, our marriage, what we shared was very special and beautiful. I know you will treasure the memory of me for the rest of your life and I love you for that. I always have. But I wish for you to be happy again. Just allow yourself to be happy, to love again, Adrian! You deserve it. Don't worry, your heart is big enough._

 _\- B- b- b- but Trudy! No! Wait! Don't leave me now! I- I… but who would love ME? Trudy, please… Trudy!_

It was ten o´clock sharp when he got startled by a sudden _knock- knock_ on the door. Still trying to recover from such a harsh way to wake up, he wasn't going to answer. To be precise, he didn't care about anyone. And without Natalie by his side, he wouldn't go outside to any murders.

Another knock. Adrian frowned, wasn't in the mood or shape to greet any visitors but whoever it was, was pretty relentless.

Slowly, he stood up and began to shuffle up the hall towards the door. Peering through the peep hole, he gasped.

"Natalie?"

"Yup, it's me, Mr. Monk. Open up, please."

He hesitated before he unchained and unlocked the door and let her inside his germfree apartment, quickly drying tears with the sleeve of his best shirt.

"What, what are you doing here, Natalie? It's your day off today, remember? "

She gave him a wide smile, but her eyes were concerned, searching his face.

"I know, Mr. Monk. I'm not here to work. It's my free day and I decided to spend it with you."

Rolling his shoulder, Adrian slowly nodded and looked at her suspiciously.

„Okay.. okay. I know what this is about. You don't trust me. You think I might do something... I don't need babysitting, Natalie. I'm adult... and I'm NOT suicidal. I'm fine!"

Natalie waved her hands in resignation. That was just annoying, her boss could read her like an open book.

"Okay... You're right, I do worry about you. But that's not the reason why I'm here. Mr. Monk, can't we spend a day just like that? Like two friends?"

"Why?"

"Because that's what we are, right? We're friends."

"Alright," the detective sighed and turned around, beginning his way back to the living room. "But I hope you understand I'm not paying you for today."

Natalie giggled, following him. She never took Adrian's moody, snappy ways personally. He was a good hearted man, just sometimes unable to deal with his own emotions, especially on days that involved Trudy. And she was determined to make today a little bit more bearable for him.

Adrian sank back in his sofa, closing his eyes.

Natalie scanned the room. It was very dark, as if it was reflecting it's resident's current state of mind.

' _Prince of Darkness_ ' came across Natalie's mind and she sighed, forcing a smile.  
"So, friend, what do you want to do today?"

Adrian raised his eyes to her, then dropped them back to his precious album in front of him.

"Come on, Mr. Monk. It's a beautiful day today. How about this, I make some breakfast and we go someplace? How about up the park or to that rock museum, you keep talking about? I've never been there?"

Adrian turned his face to her.

"What are you talking about? Don't you know what day it is today?"

"I know, it's your and Trudy's wedding anniversary. And I know it's important for you. So let's go celebrate!"

A look of disbelieve crossed Adrian's face and his eyes widened.

"I am celebrating, don't you see? I am with... with Trudy!"

Natalie's smile faded, then disappeared.

"No, Mr. Monk. You're just tormenting yourself!"

Adrian's mouth opened and closed again as if he was trying to speak, but eventually, he just dropped his sight and drew his hand to a picture of his beautiful bride and himself, both grinning happily into the camera. Holding his fingers just above the picture, careful not to touch it, he pursed his lips, staring darkly ahead.

Natalie walked around the table, settling herself down next to him. As in an automatic gesture, her hand went up, gently stroking his back.

"Mr. Monk, I lost my husband too. I know how it hurts. When Mitch died, I thought I died with him, but I didn't. And neither did you."

After a short break, Natalie spoke again.

"Trudy loved you, I'm sure she wouldn't want this for you."

Natalie waved her hand towards the dim apartment. With all the blinds shut tight, everything straight and symmetrical and with Trudy's pictures all around, it felt a bit like a crypt. A mausoleum serving just one purpose, to keep the dead one alive, one way or another.

Adrian remained silent, his eyes stuck to the photograph.

Natalie was right, sure she was right. Part of him knew he'd been living with ghosts past ten years. So many nights he'd lain in his bed, imagining his wife's warm embrace, the only solace in his loneliness he would receive and accept. So many nights he'd spent awake, his face buried in her old pillow, letting the subtle familiar scent comfort him and calm his anxiety. He did realize it was wrong but it seemed impossible for him to let go.

Eventually, he turned his head to Natalie, his dark eyes staring into hers from under the swollen lids.

"How did you do it, Natalie? How did you get over Mitch?" His voice dropped into a hoarse whisper as his throat tightened, causing him to swallow.

Natalie's hand stopped for a moment, then continued to travel all over Adrian's broad back.

"I had Julie. She needed me," she said, simply, and Adrian nodded, feeling tears burn in his eyes, unable to stop them.

He shifted a little, trying to hide his face but Natalie reached to him, placing her hand gently on the side of his face. He didn't flinch away or swipe her hand away. Instead, he closed his eyes and let his cheek rest in the warm nest of her palm. Only god knew how much he needed to feel the touch of other human being.

"Shhh," she cooed, her thumb slowly caressing his face. "Mr. Monk, you're not alone," she said, her voice soft and reassuring. "You have me and Julie. We love you and we will never leave you."

As if her words caused something inside Adrian to burst, he broke into tears and collapsed against Natalie, his body shaking as he wept against her chest.

She gasped, surprised and shocked, wrapping her arms tight around him. She could feel his tears soaking her blouse and wished to god she could make his pain go away.

Her protective hands traced all over his back while she whispered into his ear.

"Shhh, Mr. Monk, it's okay. Everything is okay... We'll never leave you."

Still shivering, Adrian wiped his eyes and slowly began to calm down. Pulling away from the shelter of Natalie's embrace, he swallowed and raised his eyes to her.

His heart felt strangely light. As if an enormous burden had been lifted off him. He was grateful for her to be there with him. He knew she meant every word she said, he trusted her completely.

His eyes drifted to the wet patch on her blouse. His chest tightened and nervous tics started to play on his face.

"Oh, that's nothing, that's okay, Mr. Monk. It'll dry off in no time," Natalie smiled, calming his agitation.

She always knew how to calm and comfort him, he would always feel safer with her around.

His mind suddenly made that unpredictable shift as he remembered their unexpected reunion back there in New Mexico. How wonderful it had felt when she appeared in that filthy, damned garage and smothered him in kisses. Yes, she had put their both lives into a deadly danger, but still, when she'd pulled him into her embrace and placed feverish kisses all over his face, he would've sworn he'd never felt more relieved in his life.

Nine kisses. An odd number. He'd been hoping for ten but they'd never got the chance.

Would it be wrong to ask her for one more?

His eyes were irresistibly attracted to her lips and Adrian couldn't help but smile when recalled how they'd felt on his skin.

But nine...

He smiled a little bit more, Natalie had always made him feel relieved. And safe. And loved.

"Natalie, I.. thank you, I will never..."

Another tic twisted his jaw and rolled his shoulder.

Nine...

His body tensed and Natalie placed her hand on his back again, reassuringly squeezing his shoulder.

"I know Mr. Monk. I know."

"Nat, would you mind kissing me?"

„I know you... _what_?"

Her mouth dropped open. She thought that during those four years she'd been working for him she'd gotten to know him pretty well, and in a way, her boss was quite predictable, but now, she was perfectly and completely shocked.

"Ehh... ahhh.. Mr. Monk, did you just ask me to kiss you?"

Adrian's eyes drifted from her lips to her eyes and back again and he nervously rubbed his hands on his knees.

"I did, I.. well, back then in Nevada, you only gave me nine kisses. If you gave me one more, it would be an even ten."

Natalie stared at him for a while, then came to life and gave a nervous chuckle.

"I... ahh... Of course I wouldn't mind!"

Adrian nodded. Obviously relieved he closed his eyes and exposed his face to her. Her mind went blank. Was that really happening?

Leaning forward, she brushed her lips up against that little stubble on his cheek. He hadn't shaved that morning and Natalie couldn't help but admire that incredible contrast between his boyish face when he was clean shaven and that rough look his growing facial hair gave him.

With her lips lingering right above his cheek, she waited for his reaction. Savoring the clean scent of his skin, she remained still for a couple of seconds, then finished her little kiss.

With her heart racing, she pulled herself away, ready to lighten up the whole situation, in some way, but Adrian never moved. With his eyes still closed and his lips stretched into a gentle smile, he looked, well, irresistible.

Stunned by his innocent yet still very masculine face, her mind muffled by the wonderful cocktail of her crazed hormones, she enclosed he gap between their faces again and pressed her lips to his skin, this time on the very corner of his mouth.

Adrian's eyes went wide open and he flinched away, jumping to his feet.

"Natalie! Natalie, what are you doing? Y.. you kissed me!"

"You asked me to."

"Not on the lips. You kissed me on the lips."

"Oh, come on, Mr. Monk, you liked it," Natalie smiled, teasingly patting his arm.

"I didn't..."

"Yes, you did. You didn't wipe it off."

That was a good point. Bewildered, Adrian opened his mouth and closed it again, no words came out. A box of tissues was sitting right there on the table and he felt no need to reach for it.

Patting the seat next to her, Natalie smiled.

"Come, Mr. Monk, sit down. Let's just forget about it. It was just a little friendly kiss, alright? I'm your friend today, not your assistant, remember?"

Adrian dropped on the couch, hanging his head in resignation.

"You don't understand, Natalie. I asked you for a kiss and you gave me two. Now you have to do it nine more times..."

"To make it another even ten," Natalie finished his sentence, almost laughing. "I got it, Mr. Monk. Let's fix it."

"You okay with that?"

"I'm sure I'll survive. But I'm surprised you are."

Instead of answering, Adrian pursed his lips and waited.

Natalie thought he seemed to be a little too enthusiastic about that kissing thing. Was that really all just about the numbers?

"Okay, Mr. Monk, get ready. Here we go."

Suddenly she felt the rush of blood in her veins again and something began to stir within her when the detective slightly leaned forward, pursing his lips a little bit more.

Still unable to believe what she was just doing, Natalie held her breath and slowly covered his lips with hers. First lightly, then pressed harder.

A wave of excitement washed over her. Her heart began to race when she realized she was kissing the sweet Adrian Monk.

Guided by instinct, she reached upward, caressing his face, and not only he didn't stop her, but he also began to response. His lips softened as he tried to return her kisses, so unsure and clumsy.

Natalie took in a shaky breath, their lips melted together. She cupped his face in both hands and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. With her eyes closed, she savored the wonderful taste of his fresh breath. It felt too good and apparently, he didn't hate it either.

She let her hands slide to the back of his head, and when her fingers found the edge of his hair, she could feel him smile. Running her fingers through his hair, it was getting pretty hard for her to control herself. Literally pulling on his hair, her breathing became rugged. She could feel him shiver and soon, her mind and all her senses became too occupied with her boss that it took a while for her to realize that he no longer was responding. She stopped, and trying to regain her self control, she pulled herself away.

Feeling a little dizzy, she opened her eyes to find Adrian staring at her, his eyes wide open, his chest moving up and down wildly as he was struggling for breath.

"Oh god…oh god, Mr. Monk, are you okay?" Squeezing his shoulder, she could feel his body stiff. Obviously, he was just experiencing one of his panic attacks and it was her fault. She went too far, was too swept away by feelings.

"Mr. Monk, I- I'm so sorry! Please, calm down… relax. I didn't mean to… nothing happened, I…"

Then she noticed it.

Adrian shut his eyes tight, desperately trying to cover his body response to Natalie's kiss. The familiar feel of shame burned through him, paralyzing every nerve in his body, the first thought was to brace himself and get ready to face Natalie's reaction, either it was going to be anger or ridicule.

But what he forgot was that no longer he was a teenager. And he was with Natalie.

"Mr. Monk… That's perfectly normal. I mean… we kissed and your reaction is perfectly normal… I mean, every man…"

He remained motionless and she tried again.

"Oh please, Mr. Monk, I'm begging you, stop thinking! You can't deny your needs and feelings! We kissed and you reacted in a perfectly natural way… It's a good thing. It means you were enjoying yourself."

"Sorry…" he whispered, his throat tightened. Natalie may be right, but how could he let it happen? Here, with her around? How would he ever be able to look her in the eye again?

He felt her move next to him. "Mr. Monk? Mr. Monk, look at me."

Something in her voice made him turn his face to her and he dared a glimpse at her. Her blue eyes were filled with focused concern, deep empathy, kind love and then there also was something else that he would not know to describe better than _hunger._ There had only been one other person in his life ever looking at him that way.

Before he could say something, Natalie reached up to caress his cheek again, her thumb scrapping on his stubble.

"It's been too long, Mr. Monk. It's okay not to be in control. It only means you're a human."

For a second time that day, Adrian found himself melt in Natalie's arms. Felling warm and safe he dared relax for just a second, before another thought crossed his mind. Like a bolt out of the blue he realized something terrifying but wonderful. He loved her. He loved Natalie.

 _ **Are you interested in hearing some more? The next chapter may be coming soon, depends on the feedback I receive ;)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys,**

 **I was super excited to discover your reviews...** **big fat & juicy "THANK YOU"! You convinced me that you're interested in my M/N story so I'll keep writing **

**I was going to post sooner but I was sick. My doc said it was flu but you can't trust doctors. I'm sure I caught the Ebola virus somewhere, and the massive inner bleeding sort of made typing difficult. I'm fine now and hope you'll enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing blah blah blah...**

The following few days were hard for Adrian. Unable to concentrate on one single thing, he stood there in the middle of the crime scene, staring at the victim but didn't see anything. No clues, no little tiny details, no jigsaw puzzle pieces he usually picks up and puts together so easily. There was no _click- click_ in his head, everything was a mess. He was a mess.

It was also hard for Natalie. She tried her best to help him as much as she could, but every time she saw him struggle through the day and kind of lost and as if silently arguing with himself, her heart sank a little bit more. She wondered what was he thinking about. Was it about them? What they had shared a couple of days ago? It was just a kiss, but she wondered if it meant for him as much as for her.. _well, at least, he obviously didn't hate it_. She knew what they needed was to talk. But that also was what she knew would never happen. Maybe in some time, maybe when they both would forget about the way it had made them feel and things would get back to normal... Wait, who was she trying to fool? Adrian Monk never forgot anything in his life and she would never ever be able to forget the rush of blood in her veins and millions of butterflies in her stomach the feel of his lips on hers had given her. That would be just impossible. Why? For an obvious reason. She had fallen in love with him.

Sometimes she found herself lying in her bed at night, just thinking. Was that how he felt when he spoke about trying not to think? That was pretty awful! But she was thinking bout him. _Fantasizing_ about him! She still was able to recall how tender his lips were. And every time she stood near him and somehow caught his clean scent, the combination of his Protex shower cream, his shampoo, talcum powder that made his skin as soft as a baby's bottom, deodorant, his aftershave and also something sweet she couldn't identify but it made her weak in the knees.

And she could smell him now, driving him back home after another long day of unsuccessful investigation. They were sitting in there, drowning in an awkward silence. Neither of them would bring up anything to make them feel uncomfortable but the whole situation itself was uncomfortable enough. As if the inside of Natalie's car was buzzing, pulsating and warming up to the point it made her feel sick.

Adrian wouldn't let her roll down a window, _what if a bug flew inside,_ so she decided to turn on the radio. Most of the channels sucked but anything was better than the screaming silence.

 _'...H_ _old me now, touch me now,_

 _I don't want to live without you._

 _Nothing's gonna change my love for you,_

 _You oughta know by now how much I love you...'_

She quickly turned the radio off and stared ahead. _Damn! Damn you, Westlife!_ She could feel Adrian's sight on her, she could feel it burning through her flesh, digging deep into her heart. He must've noticed. He must have known. Of course he did.

"Natalie? Are you alright?"

His quiet voice resonated in the small car space like an explosion. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat.

"Yes! Yeah... totally, Mr. Monk." Giving him a quick qlimpse, she faked a smile.

He slowly nodded. And smiled. And that smile melted her heart. After a short time of hesitating he extended his hand and placed it on top of hers. Just for moment, but even that made Natalie's heart nearly stop. Despite the fact that he had touched her before, either delibrately or not it felt different now. Everything felt different.

The lights turned green and their hands parted. Desperately trying to concentrate on driving, Natalie still could feel the warmth of Adrian's soft palm. _Oh god... how would his hands feel on her body? And his lips... his breath on her skin..._

Her own thoughts were driving her insane. Couldn't remember if she'd ever wanted someone else so much. She must have, Mitch, but right now, all her mind and soul, all her senses were full of Adrian and him only. She was jolted back to reality when he spoke again.

"Natalie... I wondered, what are your plans for this weekend?"

"Uhm, plans?"Her mind went blank. She was sure she'd made some plans but somehow couldn't remember what they were. Monk gave her a confused look but then spoke again.

"I just thought..." Tugging at his seat belt he hesitated. "I- I know weekends are your free days, but I thought.. maybe if you're not too busy, we could, you know, _hang._ We're _still_ friends, are we?"

Realizing she had been staring at him with her mouth open she quickly brought her attention back to the traffic and nodded.

"Ah.. sure we are, Mr. Monk! That will never change... Uhm, what are you up to?"

Startled, he began to stammer. "W- what am I up to? N- no, I'm not...I am... I- I thought... we could, just maybe go, you know, out, just hang... out, have some," he swallowed, "...fun."

Looking at Natalie's shocked face he grew anxious. Had he done something wrong? He wasn't sure. Maybe he shouldn't have asked her out, but what should have he said? Ask her to come down and help him reorganise his closet? Or scrub clean his kitchen? Oh god... she knew he wasn't _fun_. He was never fun. Maybe she didn't even want to spend weekend with him, why would she? And she though he was "up to something".. His face went pale when he realised that Natalie probably thought he had been _planning_ something for the two of them. Unwanted images of what she might have thought he had been thinking about started to pop up in his head. Natalie used to go out with men quite often and he knew _what_ men were after... well, most of them. But not him, he did respect her!

Suddenly, he felt exhausted. Tired of all the thinking he brought his hand up to his face and covered his burning eyes. How would he tell her? How would he explain what exactly was on his mind?

Adrian felt panic creeping into his heart as anxiety tightened his chest. Did she really think he was like the other guys? Especially after what happened then, during their kiss? The problem was that he _knew_ he was just like them. In a way. Since then, he had spent almost every night thinking about her. The way she looked at him, how she smiled, her soft lips on his and her tender but firm touch. He could recall everything to the very last detail. And how kind she was. She was always kind, even when he screwed things up. And every night there was a moment when he reached for the phone to dial her number. He wanted nothing but to hear her voice, even if she would just told him off. But then he placed the phone back onto it's holder. _Come on, Monk, it's only a couple of hours to go_...

"Mr. Monk? What's wrong? You feeling well? Should I stop for a while?"

"Oh, no, no... no, I'm good. Just tired."

She smiled, obviously relieved. "You'll be home in a few minutes." Instinctively, she patted his knee. "Your bed is waiting." And her hand remained there, her fingers gently stroking and petting his thigh, causing his anxiety to slowly decrease. Though he would be less worried if her _both_ hands were on the wheel, he couldn't help but close his eyes for a while and enjoy the sensation.

Natalie parked in front of Monk's house and he got out using his elbow to open and close the door. Made a few steps and was about to wave Natalie goodnight but then he noticed the windshield wipers were uneven. One of them was slightly crooked. How could have he overlooked that? Pulling his jacket sleeve over his hand he started to poke and push it down. "One second, Natalie, I'll fix this for you... almost done..."

She stared at him, her heart melting. How strange was he sometimes? But she wouldn't change a thing about him. _Perfect_. That was the right word to describe him. Most of the people who knew him would disagree, some would even laugh, but she couldn't care less. In her opinion, Adrian was just perfect.

She watched him for a bit, then left the car too. Standing at his side, she tilted her head.

"They look much better now, thank you, Mr. Monk."

He nodded and gave her a shy smile. His OCD was quite bad lately but he couldn't help himself. Almost everything bothered him, everything was out of order, driving him insane.

"Ok, Mr. Monk, it's good. They're perfectly even now... It's cold, let's get inside."

"You coming too? I mean... you can i- if you want to."

"I know it's late. I won't be long, I promise, Mr. Monk. Just wan to make sure you're okay. I'll go home as soon as you settle down."

Adrian silently scolded himself. He actually sounded like he didn't want her around. But he did. He did, very much!

Determined not to make any other stupid faux pas that night, he unlocked and opened the door and stepped back, letting Natalie enter the house first.

"Oh thank you." She smiled and so did Adrian. She sounded pleased.

"Oh no.."

"What? What is it, Mr. Monk?" Looking in his direction she discovered the cause of his dismay very soon. There was a plant, a grown ficus in a pot standing near the wall outside Adrian's apartment.

"Oh that's pretty, it seems like your landlord decided to refresh this place."

"Refresh? Natalie, this is a disaster! Look at all the leaves! Just imagine the mess when they start falling! And- and- and what's in that pot? Soil? This is like.. oh my god.. 50 cubic feet of _dirt!_ You know what does that contain? What lives in there? God... he might as well burn this house down..."

"Then why don't you tell him how you feel about it? Don't think about it now, we'll give him a call tomorrow morning, alright? We'll ask him to move it someplace else."

Adrian nodded and let Natalie lead him towards his 2G apartment door. She couldn't help but chuckle. She knew for sure that if he could have arrested, or even better shot that plant, he would have done it.

"Ok, you're home, Mr. Monk. Just relax. Should I run a bath for you?"

"Uhm... a bath would be nice. Although, I thought, would you like some coffee first? I only have decaffeinated coffee... Oh wait, I have some juice! You want some juice?"

"Orange," Natalie smiled and walked into to his living room. What she really needed right now was a glass or two of some fine red wine. She enjoyed wine a little bit too much lately, she thought. Running her fingers through her hair, she brought her attention to Adrian's large shelf where he kept all his LP albums. _Charles Aznavour, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Q_ _ueen, The Who, Pink Floyd..._ She hasn't even been through the first half when Adrian appeared next to her, handing her a glass of orange juice, exactly half filled.

"Thank you, Mr. Monk." Taking a sip, she tilted her head towards the shelf. "I wonder, do you ever listen to these? They're great names."

"They were Trudy's," he said, shrugging his shoulders. She had a great taste in music. She used to put one of these on every evening and we danced..."

"You danced?" Natalie's eyes widened over that image. Monk nodded. "I am not a much of a dancer, I kept stepping on her toes all the time..." his voice dropped into a whisper "...and she laughed..."

His eyes welled up with tears when he recalled those times, smiling. Then his look turned serious. They just stood there, staring at each other. Natalie's chest tightened and her breathing become shallower. The look... Then Adrian blinked several times and took a few steps towards the shelf, reaching up and letting his fingertips slide over the paper covers. "... I kept stepping on her toes...and she still wanted to dance with me..."

Natalie watched him take one of the records off the shelf and stare at it like he'd never seen it before.

"This was the last one we danced to. Two days before she was killed."

They just stood there in silence for a while. Adrian's hands were shaking and she knew how painful it must have been for him. Sliding her hand down his back and back up again to comfort him, she got an idea.

Slightly pulling, she took the record from him and walked over to his old fashioned record player, placing the disc on the platter.

Adrian watched her approaching him when the first tones of Leo Sawyer's "Have you ever been in love" filled the room. Like in a dream he could hear her voice as she extended her hand to him. "Dance with me, Mr. Monk."

Taking her small hand in his he wrapped his other arm around her, carefully caressing the small of her back. Suddenly, he found it hard to breathe. He could feel her move to the music, her body warm and soft, so close to him.

"N- N- Na- Natalie... I- I can't dance... It's been so long since I..."

She looked up, her eyes meeting his.

"Just do what I do, Mr. Monk. Don't think. Just listen to the music."

Adrian forced himself to calm down. She was right, he had nothing to worry about. Drawing her free hand up his arm she slid it over his bicep and placed it on his shoulder and he pulled her a little closer, copying her languid movements.

With his eyes closed he rested his cheek against her temple, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. And he felt, daring to admit, happy. That was just perfect. Their bodies so close, almost pressed together, slowly moving as one, his fingers tenderly stroking her lower back. And there was no fear, no need for distance, no urge to wipe and scrub all the germs off his skin. He smiled when he realized that was exactly how he would wish to spend the rest of his life.

 **Sooo... Adrian and Natalie found themselves lost in the moment. Who wants to hear more? Hands on the keyboard and let me know! ;)**


End file.
